PLEROMA | VOICE, ALSO FORWARD DATED TO AROUND THEN

[coerthantorment]

[Estinien still isn't sure how he feels about this method of communication, but now that it seems like something may be on the horizon, he'll sacrifice his mental well-being to get it done. He pushes inexpertly into the psychic realm, reaching out to all of those touched by the Pleroma.

It comes through roughly like his voice, but with a persistent sense of wary anticipation tinging it.]

Hail. This is Estinien Wyrmblood... with any luck, I have been able to reach you.

My dreams have been plagued by queer echoes of the selfsame vision we all had upon our arrival. It feels as if the shrines are once again stirring, and that more lost souls have fallen within their hold. If so, we can be sure that the Regent and their new thralls will one more move to claim the victims as prisoners.

We cannot allow this to happen. This time, I plan to meet the Kenoma's forces head-on, challenging them for the strategic positions around the shrines they took for granted last time. I know that not all of us have the training or abilities required to fight against such odds, but for those that do, I implore you to join me. 'Tis possible that we can spare these new arrivals the same dire fate.

Regardless of whether you join me on the field, I would find great value in knowing everything you can offer concerning the nature of the Kenoma's Aion forces. I fought a handful of them in the caverns, but many more escaped my focus.

For those that will lend their strength, but who have gone to the city... it is now within our power to guide you to our more secure location. There are those we can confer here that will help us plan our best way forward.

[At this point, he will let his message drift. Compiling information and threadjacking are very much welcomed! We are shamelessly ripping off the Kenoma here.]

Comments

[inutilis]

[ Estinien...

...Abel can hear the undertones conveyed in this strange mental connection - a space he is still getting used to, as all of them are. but it further breaks his heart knowing that this man - the very same man who had been close to broken in the cavern, whose sole anchor had been his love and attachment to his allies and friends at home - is speaking these words now. ]

I understand where you're coming from, Mr. Wyrmblood-- I truly do.

[ there is something imploring in these words, a feeling of need to convey a churning mass of thoughts that are threatening to spill over in a mess. ]

...But I can't agree. Their lives aren't worth any less than those who've gone with the Regent. They are just as deserving of our consideration as those waking for the first time in the shrines, aren't they? If we are to stop this cycle-- we cannot allow the Regent to paint us in this... this adversarial, black and white light. Can we? Are we not feeding directly into their hand if we do?

[coerthantorment]

What people 'deserve' is a meaningless consideration. There is only what you are equipped to give them. I have 'considered' them plenty already.

If you would just as soon parley with the enemy in the same moment they dig their blades into your ally's backs, I would question how much you can be trusted on the battlefield.

[Unfortunately, this has him worked up now. It just feels so lofty and self-important, from Estinien's perspective - entitlement to only doing what makes you feel morally most comfortable, no matter the risks.

It doesn't help that he had allowed himself to lean onto Abel so much in the cavern. Maybe he had been putting trust in the wrong place.]

[1/2]

[inutilis]

[ that, admittedly bites deep.

that Estinien sees the Pleroma and the Kenoma as staunch and clear enemies isn't surprising considering their circumstances and the man's personal experiences. Abel cannot bring himself to place these people in clean categories, and even if he did - he is no longer capable of writing people off no matter what titles they fall under.

he has learned where that gets him, where it gets everyone. ]

[2/2]

[inutilis]

[ but there is no bristling of any pride, no righteous indignation or anger-- if anything, there is only the waver of guilt and grief. that after what they endured together Estinien thinks of him in this way... it aches, but it isn't something he can't understand. ]

...I'm sorry.

[ and he is. ]

I know you want to protect our allies, and I know you might not believe me when I say this-- but there is little I wouldn't do to see them safe and sound. But I can't... I can't let the Kenoma pay a price in blood in trade if we can help it. I know we might not be able to avoid confrontation, but... asking to show mercy-- is that really going too far?

[coerthantorment]

[This whole thing is so difficult that for a moment Estinien wants to just put his shard away and go take a walk, in only to prevent any of this from bleeding out into his communications. It's a strange feeling, even if it's more controlled than it was in the caverns. He feels like he's dealing with Nidhogg's Eye all over again.

Yet, he started this whole discussion, and he feels it's his duty to stay with it. So, as much as his heart twists, he keeps focusing on his shard and remains in this delicate space. The trouble is, Abel's words do appeal to a part of him. It's just a part that's currently at war with well-seasoned self-preservation. Estinien is genuinely afraid of so many things in this place, and Abel's words only seem to make that threat loom heavier and darker by the moment, reminding him of how little control they really have until...

As if grabbing his own heart to steady it, he pulls himself back.]

...

No. It isn't.

But everything has a cost.

[inutilis]

...You're right. You are.

[ there is a quiet twist of his lips where Abel studies his Shard in his hands as if he were looking upon the man whose face he can picture all too clearly right now. ]

And when the cost comes due, then allow me to pay it. I know all I have is my word, but... Estinien-- please trust in me, alright...?

[coerthantorment]

[Estinien doesn't especially like the sound of that. Even beyond the fact that he doesn't think anyone should have to 'martyr' themselves for the Kenoma's sake, he's not even certain it will be effective. Wouldn't it just be trading one soul for another?

His response does end up being a bit terse, but he also seems to have a reign on any desire he might have to lash out.]

'Twould be my preference to enable those that are better inclined towards these things. If you will not protect yourself, I will do so in your stead. The same goes for the rest of you that would prioritize these efforts over self-preservation.

That is all I can offer.

[On some level he's still frustrated with all of them, all these people that would leave themselves, and their cause, vulnerable for the sake of those that have fallen. The root of it is something pleasantly familiar, but whether he likes it or not, the circumstances have shaken his belief that it can be done.

Trust isn't the right word, but he can at the very least tolerate it. For now.]

[inutilis]

[ Abel is a 'martyr' according to the brand on his inner wrist, yes; perhaps Estinien feels he is making good on his Legacy - but Abel doesn't intend to die in the name of his cause. the prices he expects to come due are not the sort that require the forfeit of his life - but time, blood, energy... perhaps.

but he feels that there is something he needs to clear up, here. ]

I can't save anyone or anything if I throw my life away. I hope you know that isn't my intention, and if it comes down to it-- if in the name of protecting you or any of those I've come to know as more than allies, but friends... I'm not afraid to do what I must.

[ even if there is regret, remorse, reluctance in those words - they ring firm and true. ]

You've known suffering, haven't you? You know what it's like to feel lost, to drown in something bigger than yourself. [ Abel can tell. he sees it, feels it in this man and the pain he had expressed in the cavern, the sensation of struggling against a force from within. ] ...If there were no kind hands to reach out to us when we've fallen, Estinien-- if someone had written us off as the enemy, where would we be?

...I have hope. I'll carry enough for you, too, if you need me to.

[ for Amos, for Misa, for Gen and Makoto and so many others-- this is not the way it has to be, and Abel refuses to accept it. ]

[coerthantorment]

[He's not sure if Abel actually has any way of knowing it, whether it was something that slipped out in their time in the cavern - but his words strike with particular violence. It almost feels offensive, to be called out so specifically, but he feels himself recoil at the sentiment.

He can't bear to think of those days, those people. Not right now. So, instead, Abel will feel the stir of Estinien's emotions, as if only witnessing their tumultuous currents from above. Then, it's gone.

Somewhere in Greentruth, Estinien has set his shard back into his chest, deciding to disengage from this entirely.]